The ‘Islamic Solidarity’ Games was opened in in Palembang, a city on Sumatra island, Indonesia on 22 September despite a chaotic run-up to the event and debates over appropriate outfits for Muslim athletes. More than 1,800 athletes from 46 Muslim-populated countries are taking part in the games in the world’s most populous Muslim country, organisers said. “Let’s put aside our political burden,” Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said in the opening ceremony, as he paid particular tribute to the Egyptian, Syrian and Palestinian delegations attending the event. “Through this event, let’s prove to the world that Islamic countries can live in unity and harmony,” he said.
The Indonesian organisers’ move to rule out any restriction on the dress for the athletes and ‘follow international rules, not Muslim rules’ have left the followers of Islam in quandary as to why they call these games ‘Islamic’.